The remark by an unnamed spokesman of North Korea's Foreign Ministry could be an indication that the communist regime intends to test a nuclear bomb.

"When the time comes, the DPRK will take steps to physically display its nuclear deterrent force," the North Korean spokesman told Pyongyang's state-run news agency KCNA, which was monitored by the South Korean agency.

DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

For weeks, North Korea has said that it was building up its "nuclear deterrent force," a term the isolated, communist nation uses to refer to its nuclear weapons program.

U.S. intelligence officials believe that North Korea already has one or two nuclear bombs and may be building more.

On Thursday, KCNA quoted the North Korean spokesman as saying his country has "no other option but to continue to take steps to keep and increase its nuclear deterrent force as a self-defense measure" because of what it calls U.S. plans to invade.

North Korea also accused the United States of stalling talks aimed at ending the year-old nuclear standoff.

Representatives from the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia met in Beijing in August to discuss ways to end the crisis. The meeting ended without agreement on when to hold a next round of talks.